Childhood is a carefree time for children to play and learn, however, this isn’t always the case for some children. As hard as it is we need to talk about child abuse. It seems there isn’t one day that goes by where we don’t see reports of children being neglected, abused, and worst of all murdered by those that should care for them. Seeing that most of us may have become desensitized to the everyday reporting of another child being hurt or fatally wounded, there are some stories that stick with us.

In what has been described as one of the worst cases of child abuse in New Mexico, on August 24^th 10-year-old Victoria Martens was injected with methamphetamine and sexually assaulted by her mother’s boyfriend, Fabian Gonzales and Gonzales’ cousin Jessica Kelley. If that wasn’t horrible enough she was strangled to death during the assault, and then stabbed. While there is still an investigation going on about the sequence of events leading up to Victoria's death, it has recently been revealed that Michelle Martens mother stood by and watched everything happen to Victoria for her own "sexual gratification.” Watching the video of Michelle Martens’ arraignment she appears to have no remorse for playing a part in the assault and murder of her daughter. She just stands there looking emotionless. Sadly enough, cases of children being abused or murdered by their parents, or some other family member, is not uncommon to hear about.

Stories like these are enough to make a person’s heart sink into their stomach. Even as I am writing this I can’t help but feel a deep sadness for these children being hurt by people that were supposed to care for them. Coming across the story of what happened to Martens, I couldn’t help but think how beautiful and full of life she looked. Why would anyone do such a horrible thing to a child? News stories like these are ones that you can’t help but obsess over. I can’t help but question if there were any warning signs that could’ve prevented the death of these innocent children. We owe it to Victoria, and all of the other children out there who have lost their lives to abuse, to look out for warning signs that could save children from succumbing to the same fate as her. While it's hard to know what goes on behind closed doors, but sometimes there are some subtle signs that children are being abused.

Not all abuse is physical, making it harder for us to see whether or not a child is in need of help. However, we all have a moral duty to educate ourselves as to what might be considered red flags. While some people might be hesitant towards reporting someone for negligence, emotional abuse or physical abuse, because they may feel that it isn’t any of their business, it can save a child’s life. It’s like that old saying, “It takes a village to raise a child," and it's completely true. We need to stop thinking that just because it isn’t happening to us doesn’t mean we don’t have to do anything about it. If there was a child in your life that you loved and cared about that was being abused, you’d wish that if someone had any concerns they would’ve reported it. We all need to hold the kids in our lives a little closer and make sure that they are living in a safe home.

You can find more information about recognizing signs and symptoms of abuse at this website.

You can also make a donation to the Victoria Martens Memorial here. The money raised will go towards a college fund for her 8-year-old brother Matthew.